YouTube boosts size of video player to add HD videos

Previously, YouTube videos were available with a 4:3 aspect ratio only. But now, the YouTube player provides full-width capabilities with a 16:9 aspect ratio to allow for HD videos.

Most videos currently being added to YouTube are HD-quality, but the screen size available on YouTube limits its picture quality. YouTube is expanding the width to 960 pixels to play videos in widescreen format so picture quality is retained. In the company blog, the YouTube team wrote about this feature:

We're expanding the width of the page to 960 pixels to better reflect the quality of the videos you create and the screens that you use to watch them. This new, wider player is in a widescreen aspect ratio which we hope will provide you with a cleaner, more powerful viewing experience. And don't worry, your 4:3 aspect ratio videos will play just fine in this new player.

Some videos are already utilizing this new feature; the end scene in “Tropic Thunder” is in regular format, but to watch the HD format, click the YouTube link here. Previously, we would have seen empty dark spaces around the video. The only problem for users now is that the widescreen format is only available on YouTube's site and not elsewhere via embedded players. YouTube previously limited uploads to a 4:3 aspect ratio in an effort to keep videos simple and allow them to be seen in different PC and mobile formats. HD videos files, on the other hand, are bigger in size and take time to download. To watch HD videos, a user needs a widescreen format and the new feature provides that. The widescreen format is already available on Hulu.com, Smugmug.com, Blip.tv, Vimeo.com and other sites.